In the news today, Jan. 3

The Canadian Press

Published: Jan 03 at 4:15 a.m.

Updated: Oct 24 at 3:43 p.m.

Six stories in the news for Wednesday, Jan. 3

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EX-HOSTAGE JOSHUA BOYLE FACING 15 CHARGES

A Canadian man recently freed with his wife and young children after years of being held hostage in Afghanistan is scheduled to appear in an Ottawa court today to face 15 charges. Court documents show Joshua Boyle is charged with eight counts of assault, two of sexual assault, two of unlawful confinement, one count of causing someone to "take a noxious thing," uttering a death threat and misleading a police officer. The purported acts allegedly occurred after Boyle and his family returned to Canada last fall.

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IRAN PROTESTS SPARK DEBATE OVER RENEWING TIES

Several days of deadly protests in Iran are not deterring the Trudeau government from its efforts to restore diplomatic ties with Tehran — at least for now. A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has indicated that Canada is not contemplating ending talks with Iran, despite being "deeply troubled" by the deaths of at least 21 protesters and the arrests of hundreds more.

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LAC-MEGANTIC CLOSING ARGUMENTS SET TO BEGIN

Closing arguments are set to begin in Quebec today at a jury trial of three men charged with criminal negligence in the Lac-Megantic rail disaster that killed 47 people in 2013. The proceedings in Sherbrooke are set to last three days. The Crown has argued that the locomotive was not properly secured, leaving it resting precariously on a slope 10 kilometres away from Lac-Megantic.

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WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED MAN DENIES LAWSUIT CLAIMS

A B.C. man awarded millions for wrongful imprisonment is now defending himself in a civil lawsuit, again denying he sexually assaulted five women. The women filed suit last October, alleging Ivan Henry broke into their homes in the 1980s and sexually assaulted them. Henry was convicted on 10 counts of sexual assault in 1983 and spent 27 years in prison before he was freed. The conviction was overturned in 2010, when a B.C. Appeal Court judge found flaws in both the trial and police investigation.

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TORONTO TO REVIEW SHELTER SYSTEM

Complaints about the lack of shelter space for the homeless during this cold snap have prompted both the City of Toronto and its ombudsman to launch formal investigations. Advocates have said in recent days that they tried to find spots for homeless people in some of the city's 62 shelters only to be told that they were completely full. Mayor John Tory will address the matter at a news conference today.

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MAPLE LEAFS TO HONOUR JOHNNY BOWER

The Toronto Maple Leafs will honour Hall of Fame goaltender Johnny Bower today with a public memorial service at the Air Canada Centre. Several Leafs alumni and team executives will pay tribute to Bower, who spent 11 seasons with the Maple Leafs and led them to four Stanley Cup titles. He died on Dec. 26 at age 93 after falling ill with pneumonia.